A review of medical surveillance records of employees exposed to ethyleneamines.
A review of medical surveillance records was undertaken for 197 personnel who had been assigned to an ethyleneamines (EA) production unit for one or more months between 1947 and 1983. Dispensary visit reports were examined relative to EA and other chemical exposures, medical records were reviewed for allergy and asthma histories, spirometry data were evaluated, and the mortality experience of these employees was studied relative to exposure status. All findings were evaluated in reference to a comparable group of employees who did not work in plant areas where contact with EA was likely. Among 75 persons reporting EA exposures, 7 definite and 8 suspect cases of respiratory sensitization were identified. Similarly, there were 23 definite and 17 suspect cases of skin sensitization. Pulmonary function did not differ between study and referent groups and was unrelated to both EA assignment duration and skin or respiratory sensitization. There were no indications of increased mortality in the study group. Careful selection of employees for assignment to this unit may have occurred by plant physicians, who were aware of the potential sensitizing properties of EA.